I waited with baited breath for his reaction.
My mom gasped, a hand going to cover her mouth.
My dad jumped to his feet, towering over the top of us.
“What?” he demanded.
“Think about it, Sean,” Vance replied, slowly rising to his feet as well so he could face him. “It makes sense. I know Portia is young, but you have to admit she’s also very mature for her age. You know we’re going to get married anyway, eventually. It’s inevitable with the magical connection between us. I’m trying to respect your wishes here as well in regard to your daughter and her reputation. This seemed to us like the wisest course of action. Why put off something that’s going to happen anyway?”
My dad stared hotly at him for a second before turning to walk away from him a few steps in frustration.
“Absolutely not!” he said, but in a softer voice this time. He turned his head to look at Vance. “Look, son. I know you’re worried about your mom, but Portia still has a year and a half of school left. I’m not going to let her throw away her education to go away with you. It’s too risky. I think you need to stay here and finish the half year you have left as well.”
“We’ve already discussed this together,” Vance replied glancing down at me. “I’ve contacted a tutoring agency and researched all the particulars. The tutor will help me with testing out so I can get my diploma and will get Portia caught up on everything so she can pick up right where she left off. Both of us have excellent grades, so catching up shouldn’t even be an issue. I’ve done my research, Sean. We aren’t running into this like a couple of stupid lovesick kids.” He reached down to grab my hand, pulling me to stand up beside him. “We want to respect your opinions, and we’ll abide by whatever you decide. We just want you to hear us out and have an honest, open-minded discussion with us.”
My dad had been quiet for several moments before he finally moved to sit back on the couch next to my mom.
“All right then, let’s hear it.” he said.
The four of us had a very frank and open talk together after that which lasted over the next several hours. My parents finally decided to begrudgingly give in and see things from our point of view. They gave us their permission to get married.
Vance had to promise my parents repeatedly that we would finish school as soon as we returned and that we would come back at the earliest possible time.
Technically, Vance should have already been graduated at this point in his life. However, when he had been fleeing from his father, he had gotten behind in school so he had to play catch up after that. So, while he was a little more than a good two years older than I was, we were only a year apart in school.
I had the distinct impression that Vance was not at all brokenhearted about finishing school with a tutor and getting married before he was graduated. In fact, I would have ventured to say everything was moving exactly on his preferred timetable. In the past, he had made no bones about his desire to marry me as soon possible. He had gotten his wish, and now we were headed to Scotland as husband and wife, something I would have never dreamed possible at this point and time in my existence.
Thankfully, we were still in Las Vegas when all this had been decided, which made planning a wedding super easy once we found a chapel we liked.
After the decision was made, we were married in just two days’ time and were now getting ready to head out on the Scotland part of our honeymoon.
Vance had booked our stay at the beautiful Inverlochy Castle in Inverness-shire. Our flight was scheduled to leave this evening from Las Vegas, nonstop to New York, where we would switch planes at JFK and fly to London overnight.
“Hey!” Vance said, calling me back to reality. “No sad faces today,” he added, and he leaned over to place a kiss under my chin.
“Sorry,” I replied, trying to let go of all the worries about what might lie ahead. “I’m just wondering what the future may hold for us.”
“We’ll think about that later,” he said, continuing to nuzzle against me. “Right now, in this moment, everything is just about you and me.”
His distraction tactics worked. He kissed my worried thoughts into oblivion, and we finally ended up getting around to finishing breakfast sometime around four o’clock in the afternoon.
After we had eaten, we packed up our belongings, stopped to ship our wedding attire back to Sedona so we wouldn’t have to haul it with us, and headed off to the airport to catch our flight. We made it through all the checkpoints just fine and soon were boarded on the plane, in the air, on our way to New York.
“This is much better than the last flight I was on,” I said, as I snuggled against Vance’s shoulder, remembering back to my flight with his father, Damien, after he had kidnapped me.
“I’m sorry you had to go through all that,” he replied, reaching his arm around so he could pat me gently on the head with his hand.
“It’s over,” I sighed, enjoying the safety I felt in his arms. “Let’s not even talk about it.”
“Fine by me,” he whispered, moving in to place a gentle kiss on the top of my head, before resting his head against mine.
Our earlier activities of the day finally caught up with us, and soon we were both fast asleep.
I assumed the rest of the flight was completely uneventful since we both slept deeply until we were awakened several hours later when the pilot’s voice came over the loudspeaker, announcing our decent into New York.
I slowly stretched my limbs out, trying to get the blood flowing once again.
“Hi,” I said softly, when I looked over to find Vance staring at me with a tender smile on his face.
“Did you sleep well?” He let his eyes travel over me.
I nodded my head.
“I always sleep better when I’m with you,” I replied.
“Well, it’s good that we’re married then,” he replied in a lowered voice, “Because I plan on spending every single night of my life at your side.”
I smiled at him, reaching over to squeeze his hand, just as the wheels of the plane touched down on the runway.
We disembarked and hurried through the airport to catch our connecting flight to London. We made it easily and were soon settled into the comfy chairs of our first class seats awaiting take-off. I could see that there were definitely going to be perks to having married a multi-millionaire.
Thankfully, though, the money hadn’t seemed to change Vance’s demeanor. Except for the fact he seemed happy to share it with everyone he possibly could.
“How are you feeling?” he asked me with a smile as we waited for departure. “Tired?”
“Actually I’m feeling pretty rested right now after our last flight,” I said smiling back at him. “Why are you asking?” I was suddenly suspicious of the secretive grin on his face.
He leaned in close to my ear so he could whisper into it.
“I thought you might have some interest in joining the mile-high club between here and London,” he said seductively, and I felt his warm breath caress my skin near my earlobe, causing tiny goose bumps to break out on my skin.
I pulled back in shock at his comment and playfully slapped him against his shoulder.
“You’re going to get us kicked off the plane!” I laughed, and I flushed crimson from head to toe.
“That color really does look beautiful on you,” he added with a laugh, grabbing my chin in his hand, pulling me back toward him before leaning over to kiss me, not caring about who was looking.
When he finally moved away from me, he caught the eye of an elderly woman seated across the aisle, who was staring at us with a frown over our public display of affection.
“Sorry,” he apologized to her with a wink. “We’re on our honeymoon.”
Her frown changed to a smile then, and a knowing light reached her eyes. I could see he had instantly won her over with his charm.
“Congratulations,” she said. “I hope you’ll have a very happy life together.”
“Thank you,” we both replied, smiling, before turning to look at each other once again.
We began taxiing down the runway a short time later, and the two of us leaned back against our seats. Vance reached over and took my hand in his, interlocking our fingers together. I just sat and looked at them as he absently rubbed his thumb back and forth over mine.
It amazed me how even the smallest gesture he made could convey so many messages to me, almost as if I could feel his feelings for me pulsating through his very skin into mine, leaving no doubt in my mind that he loved me with every fiber of his being.
I turned my head so I could look at him as he rested against his seat with his eyes closed. I didn’t think I would ever tire of looking at him, his purposely messed up hair, the strong perfect features, and that wonderful physique, all wrapped up nicely in the humble t-shirt and jeans.
His eyes opened slightly then, and he looked over at me briefly, with a slight question in his gaze.
“What?” he asked softly as he repositioned his head, closing his eyes once again in relaxed comfort.
“I was just thinking about how I’m never going to get tired of looking at you. You’re beautiful,” I replied, honestly.
He smiled, as if amused at my comment, without opening his eyes.
“You have it all wrong,” he said, squeezing my hand lovingly. “You’re the beautiful one in this relationship.”
“No, I’m not,” I said shaking my head and I placed a kiss against his cheek.
He turned his head right then, catching me, and the kiss landed full on his mouth. I heard him chuckle slightly as he reached a hand up behind my head, locking my lips in place against his own.
“I love you,” he said into my head, as his tongue flitted briefly over mine.
“I love you, too,” I replied, enjoying his stolen kiss and the pin-prickling waves it was causing to rush madly through my body.
I heard him sigh, and he pulled away from me, shaking his head at me, and I realized he was experiencing the same feelings I was.
“Stupid seven hour flight,” he grumbled settling back into his seat, his eyes never leaving me as they trailed a hot path over my body.
I laughed at the lustful look in his eyes.
“What are you laughing about?” he asked with a slightly frustrated tone to his words.
“No matter how much you get, it’s never going to be enough, is it?” I asked more than a little bit in awe of him and the power of his ardent desires.
“Not bloody likely,” he replied with a grin, throwing a little English slang into his accent.
I watched him as his gaze traveled up and down the length of me once again, not hiding any of his intentions toward me, finding that I could feel my own feelings jump to life as he looked at me like that. Suddenly I felt the same frustration he did.
“It is going to be a long flight,” I agreed watching him, returning the same come hither look he was flashing at me.
“Well, I did offer a suggestion to help with that,” he teased, his eyes sparkling with mischief, and I knew in that moment he would totally follow through with that suggestion if I were to let him.
“As tempting as your offer is, it isn’t going to happen,” I whispered back at him with a smile.
He sighed heavily at the comment and trailed his gaze over me once more.
“I was afraid of that.” He grinned. “The proper wife in you is already coming to the surface.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.” I laughed at him, and he pulled me into his arms, cuddling me against him.
“Portia, nothing you do is ever a disappointment to me,” he said and hugged me tightly.
Chapter 3
We landed at London Heathrow Airport around eight in the morning. After getting off the plane we boarded another small flight to Inverness, Scotland, arriving about an hour and a half later.
We gathered our luggage and met the driver from Inverlochy Castle. He was very friendly and collected our bags from us before leading us out to a beautiful Rolls-Royce Phantom. Vance helped him load our things inside, despite the man’s protests that he shouldn’t worry himself over such things. When they were done, Vance climbed into the car beside me, and the smiling man closed the door behind him.
“Great car,” Vance said while he looked around with an appreciative eye at the custom interior.
I nodded my head, smiling at his male attributes coming to the surface. He rubbed his hand almost reverently over the leather interior, before he sidled up closer to me, lifting my hand and placing it in his lap as he held it.
Our chauffeur’s name was Connell. He was a very friendly man, short and stocky in his build with graying hair that looked as though it may have been a flaming shade of red during his younger years, dressed informally in sportsman styled tweeds. He pointed out the sites and facts of interest along the trip through the countryside, on our way to the castle. I had to listen to him carefully, since he spoke in a thick Scottish brogue, so I could understand him but it was a delightful tribute to the authenticity of our current experience.
The drive was breathtaking, and we could see the snowcapped mountains around us as well as the icy loch off to our right for most of the way.
When we approached the castle I had to hold my breath for a second just to enjoy the view, my eyes widening in wonder.
Inverlochy Castle was a large granite stone facility that sat at the bottom of some of Scotland’s highest mountains. The famous peak of Ben Nevis shadowed overhead, while the castle itself sat on perfectly maintained grounds. The massive structure was framed in by tall trees on the property, which sloped down a gentle decline until it overlooked the gorgeous waters of the loch.
“It’s beautiful,” I said and smiled at Vance, unable to think of a grander way to describe the scene.
“Fit for a queen,” he replied and squeezed my hand while placing a tender kiss against my neck which gave me a little shiver of excitement down my spine.
The car pulled to a stop, and we exited the vehicle. Vance led me up to the great gothic looking doors, while Connell got our luggage, and we went inside to the front desk which was located in the great hall.
After we were checked in and given our room key, Vance followed the bellhop to our room, towing me behind him.
I looked around, taking everything in as we passed by, the beautiful old oak staircase, the grand fireplace invitingly ablaze, and the fine furnishings that held quietly mingling guests here and there in comfortable looking nooks and crannies. The décor was amazing.
The room Vance had reserved was called The Queen’s Suite, aptly named after a visit from Queen Victoria who had apparently spent a week there at some point during her lifetime, becoming quite enchanted with the place.
We entered the plush room, and I could see why she might have found it so charming. I wandered around looking at the pale colored furnishings with its canopy bed, silk drapes, and other fine fabrics, before venturing to the windows to take in the view. The bellhop put our luggage up, after which Vance tipped him generously, closing the door behind him.
“The Queen’s Suite?” I asked when he turned to face me, feeling a little overwhelmed by his extravagant treatment of me.
“I thought it was appropriate for the guest I was bringing here,” he replied, walking up to place his hands on the sides of my face. “After all, you deserve only the best.”
He kissed me, gently taking my mouth at first, before moving to rain over the rest of my face with tiny, tenderly placed affections. I loved getting to know the romantic side of him even more, as my heart leapt up in tempo at his soft touch. He surprised me when he pulled away from me a few moments later and walked over to the suitcases.
“Do you want to take a shower?” he asked casually, unzipping our luggage. “We’ve been traveling for a long time. I thought it would be nice to freshen up from our trip and relax some of those tight muscles.”
“That sounds lovely,” I replied, and I joined him to help unpack our
things, thinking that a shower sounded exactly like the perfect thing. I gathered up some items and followed him into the adjoining bathroom.
The shower was indeed refreshing for us, and afterward we crawled into the luxurious looking bed, deciding to just spend the rest of the day there, recovering from our jet lag.
Our room had all of today’s modern technology in it, despite the age of the castle. Vance picked up the remote, clicking on the television as I lay snuggled lethargically in the crook of his other arm.
“So why did you choose this place to stay?” I asked him while he flipped randomly through the channels looking for something to watch.
“Well, it’s near to the town of Fort William,” he said after a pause, though he seemed slightly hesitant.
“What’s in Fort William that would want you to be close to it?” I asked, suddenly getting the impression that he had been keeping something from me, and I lifted my head so I could see his face.
A minor irritated expression flitted briefly over his features, which he quickly composed once again.
“There’s a coven there that your dad was able to get in contact with. Someone is supposed to meet with us in a couple of days,” he replied, but before I could ask him anything else he rolled on his side to face me better. “But this is our honeymoon, and for the next two days that is all I want to concentrate on, okay? I want this to just be us time. No mysteries, magic, or missing persons, just us.”
“All right,” I said, nodding my head in understanding, relieved that he wasn’t upset with me, only the situation.
“I’m sorry our wedding had to be tangled up in all this mess.” He spoke softly, reaching to brush my damp hair away from my face.
“I’m not. We wouldn’t be married right now if that weren’t the case,” I reminded him.
“True,” he replied as his eyes flitted over my face, and I could see some regret there. “But I would’ve loved to sweep you off somewhere for a couple of months where we didn’t have a care in the world, and everything could just revolve around me being with you.”